1. The Metamorphosis (1915)
Franz Kafka

2. Biographical, Historical, and Conceptual Contexts

3. Franz Kafka Born in 1883 middle-class, German-speaking
Jewish family in Prague
Studied law
insurance company in order to support his parents
inferiority complex
tyrannical father
tuberculosis in 1917
physically and mentally repulsive

4. Suffered from clinical depression,
social anxiety,
Died in 1924 from starvation
tuberculosis did not allow swallowing

5. Kafka’s Alienation Felt he was an outsider Jewish in Catholic Prague
Sickly
Lonely
Perceived human beings as
being trapped by authority in
a hopeless world
frustrated at supporting family
Had to work in a meaningless
bureaucratic job
Franz Kafka

6. Modern Alienation: Fragmentation
The city
Dehumanization
Modern means of production—division of labor
Sense of worthlessness
Acceleration of life and travel
Mechanization
Class

7. Prague Catholic city where Czech was spoken
Segregated its Jewish population into a German-speaking ghetto
seven hills and dominated by “The Castle,” = symbol of authority
Highly dense city, with narrow, labyrinth-like streets
The Jewish Ghetto

8. Expressionist Literature
not objective reality
but the subjective reality
Depicts a psychological or spiritual reality through distortion and/or exaggeration
as if it were completely real
Replaces concrete particulars with allegorical forms

9. Meaning of The Metamorphosis

10. Gregor Samsa = life with risks/rewards and the embrace of an inauthentic code of behavior

11. The Inward Passage: The Real Metamorphosis
His first step = disobedience:
work
etiquette
soul searching:
conformed to his family’s and employer’s demands
inauthenticity and meaninglessness of his life

12. The Inward Passage: The Real Metamorphosis
His first step = disobedience:
work
etiquette
soul searching:
conformed to his family’s and employer’s demands
inauthenticity and meaninglessness of his life

13. Thematic Contexts

14. Mythic: Ovid Ovid’s Metamorphoses
Each contains some sort of transformation or metamorphosis.
tales of transformation in which a person or lesser deity is permanently transformed into an animal or plant.

15. Kafka’s story,
explores the life and destiny of Gregor Samsa
Ovid only depicts the act of the metamorphosis itself

16. Biological: Metamorphosis
Takes place in distinct stages:
larval stage
then enter an inactive state called pupa or chrysalis
finally emerge as adults
Gregor’s transformation parallels this metamorphosis.

17. Psychological: Depression
Illness that can challenge the ability to perform even routine daily activities, characterized by the following:
Loss of interest or pleasure
Sustained fatigue without physical exertion
Lack of energy and motivation
Feelings of guilt or hopelessness
Self-centeredness

18. Gregor’s behavior parallels all of these descriptors.
Psychosis, a more extreme case of depression, is characterized by the loss of contact with reality:
Having visions
Hearing voices
Feeling sensations that have no basis in fact
Gregor’s behavior parallels all of these descriptors.

19. Form of The Metamorphosis

20. The Form of The Metamorphosis: Parable
Uses this literary form as a neutral, detached point of view from which to examine human behavior
Conveys truth in a less offensive, more engaging form than a direct assertion
Appeals to the understanding, the emotions, and the imagination—to the whole person

21. Definition of Parable
At its simplest, a parable is a metaphor or simile  drawn from nature or common life,  arresting the hearer by its vividness or strangeness,  and leaving the mind in sufficient doubt about its precise application  to tease it into active thought."  (C. H. Dodd, The Parables of the Kingdom, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1961, p. 5)

22. Parable: The Complexity of Life
The meaning of most parables is not so obvious, or at least it shouldn't be.
Most parables contain some element that is strange or unusual.
Parables do not define things precisely but, rather, use comparisons.
Takes the familiar and applies it to the unfamiliar
Makes the unfamiliar more comprehensible

23. Central Symbol of the Beetle/Vermin
A subjective fantasy that best describes Gregor’s self-loathing:
Worthlessness
Uselessness
Meaninglessness
Awkwardness
Ugliness

24. Difficulties in Reading Kafka: Paradox and Ambiguity
Not a systematic philosopher or religious man
Is so convincing in his matter-of-factness and use of details to the point of negating the absurdity of a situation
Does not use metaphors yet his stories are parables
Uses distortion to reveal truths
Suggests various levels of meanings
Is quirky